extinction
noun/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃn/
/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃn/
[uncountable, countable]- a situation in which a plant, an animal, a way of life, etc. stops existing
- a tribe threatened with extinction/in danger of extinction
- The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.
- The mountain gorilla is on the verge of extinction.
- We know of several mass extinctions in the earth's history.
- a campaign to save wild koalas from extinction
- Will technology in music drive creativity to extinction?
- The dormouse in Britain may face extinction if ancient woodland continues to disappear.
- A comet colliding with the earth may have caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- global
- mass
- total
- …
- cause
- lead to
- be doomed to
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin exstinctio(n-), from exstinguere ‘quench’, from ex- ‘out’ + stinguere ‘quench’.
Check pronunciation:
extinction